My last puppy went to it’s forever home today. I was happy to get rid of all of them but I hate to see them go. With all of the stuff going on (and our kids don’t think we should go anywhere) I’m really glad Sally had them. They took up a lot of my time when, without them, I would have been just pacing the floor, probably. All of them went to good homes, I believe.
Josie honoring the backing dog.
Abby honoring the backing dog.
Abby watching a bird fly away from the backing dog.
All but two of the puppies stayed for about 10 weeks before going to the new homes. If people want their puppy before ten weeks I’m okay with it but I think they learn to be dogs better if they stay in the litter for about ten weeks. That isn’t just my opinion. There have been several articles written, by very knowledgeable people, saying ten weeks is better.
There is a book written about training dogs that says get your puppy on it’s 49th day. Seven weeks, no younger and no later. The writer says there have been tests with seeing eye dogs that says more of the dogs were able to be trained to be seeing eye dogs when they are taken from the litter at 49 days. Several people have read the same literature that the author did and couldn’t find where the reports said that 49 days was “the” day.
I have taken puppies home on their 49th day and I have got them later. The biggest thing in the puppies life is seeing lots of birds. I have offered each of the people who buy one of my puppies the opportunity to bring it back and work it on my pigeons. This gives me a good chance to see my puppies develop and to see if my breeding program is headed in the right direction.
Sine the puppies were 4 or 5 weeks old they have seen pigeons on a regular basis. I didn’t fly birds for them every day but at least a couple of times a week. When the puppies were real young I locked the wings on some pigeons and let them play with them. It may have been because there were so many of them (8) but they got too aggressive, quickly. I saw they were too hard on the pigeons so I would tease them with a bird then let it fly way.
I used every opportunity I could find to get the puppies to come to me. The best recall was when I got a pigeon from the coop and started saying, “here puppy, here puppy”. They recognized that call and came running. I had them in a raised pen and they knew when I stood close to the pen they were to be put back. They learned not to come very well then.
In this litter there was 7 females and 1 male. I had decided before the litter was born to keep a male. Since there was only one it made my decision easy. I’m looking forward to working with Boss along with Abby and Josie. I hope to have all 3 ready for this next hunting season. I have some good older dogs but they know what to do. It’s fun to see the puppies learn.
Josie and the backing dog.
When I was on Facebook this morning some people wanted to know which release were the best. I don’t respond to most of the posts on Facebook but I thought this might be a good place to put my thoughts on the different release traps. I have used the Innotec which was bought out by Lion Country Supply, I think. I now have 2 Dogtra and 4 DT release traps.
When I used the Innotec release traps they were slow to release the bird. From the time you pushed the button until the bird actually flushed was about a second. They may have fixed this issue but if a dog points close to these then jumps in, a lot of the time, the dog will catch the bird. I used mine until they were about wore out then got two DT’s.
The DT’s work fine but they are noisy. And they have that dang door. I hate it. I never used the door and every once in a while as I walked away from the trap a bird would fly away. I’d go back and look and the door would be open. I thought about welding it shut but never did.
Puppies finding the food in the grass.
But the best thing about the DT’s, they release the bird quickly. A few years ago I worked with a young dog that I thought might be scared by the noise the DT’s make. She would point then circle part of the way and point again. She might do this 3 or 4 times on one release trap. So I got a couple of Dogtra’s.
The Dogtra’s are fast like the DT’s and quiet. After training the young dog with the Dogtra’s I figured out that she wasn’t afraid of the trap she just thought that she should circle the bird after pointing. I got rid of the dog but still have the Dogtra release traps.
The Dogtra’s work great for starting young puppies because they make very little noise and you can adjust them to where they make almost no noise. They still toss a bird into the air really well. I, also, use the Dogtra traps in front of the backing dog.
Puppies wanting attention.
Usually, I have the backing dog hid where the honoring dog comes around a clump of brush and is surprised to see a dog on point. I put two birds in front of the backing dog and after I make sure the dog is stopped to honor I walk around them then flush one of the birds. The backing dog is still up. I stroke the dog and tell them what good dogs they are. Then flush the second bird and lay the backing dog down. Where the birds come from is well hidden from the dog and he can only hear them flush and then most times he can see them a little later. When I flush the second bird I lay the backing dog down, stroke the dog and heel it away.
The Dogtra traps are a little smaller, a little lighter than the DT’s but they work just as well and are quieter. As my DT’s wear out I will go to the Dogtra’s, exclusively. And the Dogtra’s don’t have a dang door.